Glen Farley has covered the Patriots for The Enterprise since the Raymond Berry regime.

Conference call with Patriots coach, coordinators

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By Glen Farley

Glen Farley has covered sports for The Enterprise since 1978. His time on the Patriots beat dates back to the final year of the Raymond Berry regime, 1989. You could say his roots lie in Foxboro. He once won an award for a piece he wrote on the sod
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Glen Farley has covered sports for The Enterprise since 1978. His time on the Patriots beat dates back to the final year of the Raymond Berry regime, 1989. You could say his roots lie in Foxboro. He once won an award for a piece he wrote on the sod at Gillette Stadium.

Thanks to the Patriots media relations department for the transcripts:

PATRIOTS HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK

CONFERENCE CALL

January 7, 2013

BB: This is kind of like a combination Monday-Tuesday for us. The players will be in tomorrow and that will be kind of like a Wednesday for us. We’re just trying to get our game plan thoughts in order here and be ready for the guys when they come in tomorrow.

Q: What did you think you did well in the first game with the Texans?

BB: There were several things in that game that went our way but I don’t think that’s really that significant at this point. We just have to go back and make sure that we’re well prepared for the things that they do. The plays will match up differently and I’m sure there will be new plays that weren’t in that game. I don’t think you can overanalyze that game. We’re playing a team – we have our team, they have their team and it’s a big picture thing. Every game comes down to some specific plays and matchups but you know never know that’s how it’s going to go at the beginning. You just have to wait and see how it unfolds. We’re just going to focus on our preparation and what we do and what they’ve shown that they’ve done and try to be ready for it all.

Q: I know that in-game adjustments are critical in every game. Does the need for in-game adjustments intensify when you play a team you have played before?

BB: I think they’re really pretty much all the same because you could be playing a team for the first time and there are new things there or when you play them a second time, you anticipate some differences too that maybe you haven’t been working on, maybe it’s something they haven’t shown. But I think you have to be ready for that however it goes and try to see how much is new, how much is window dressing and really how they want to try to play. I know what you’re saying, but I think really it’s kind of the same in all games.

Q: We always talk about in-game adjustments and we always think about the time you have with the players during halftime. But do those adjustments begin with the first play and the first drive?

BB: Yeah, definitely, the first drive as soon as we come off and we have a lot more information than we had going into the game even if some of it is just a confirmation of their personnel, their groupings, their matchups. [We] try to take a look at what they’re trying to do, why they selected the type of plays that they’ve selected in the first series and what does it look like they’re trying to attack or how they’re trying to play us. With a team like Houston that has some West Coast elements to it, you know that early in the game, there is a script portion or potential in the game and so that’s also another thing you have to factor in. Teams that are script-type teams, how you want to treat that because script isn’t always necessarily the way the whole game goes. Sometimes a script is just a script. But yeah definitely, it starts as soon as the game starts. You get halftime, fourth quarter, a lot of times is just situational football based on the score, whatever the conditions happen to be. A lot of times, the game plan really only goes two, two and a half, three quarters depending on the way the game unfolds and then a lot of times in the fourth quarter you’re just playing situational football or you’ve seen so much of the game that you’re no longer in a game plan mode, you’re [in] ‘Play the game the way this particular game is being played,’ mentality.

Q: How much does experience factor into the playoffs? Does it aid in preparation and game situations? How big of an impact can it have?

BB: I don’t know. I think it has some but I don’t think it is overriding by any means. You can find plenty of examples of teams and players with limited experience that have done very well and plenty of those same examples where it hasn’t gone so well. But I think like anything else, if you’ve been through it once you have a little more knowledge and a little more confidence and understanding of what’s going to happen than if you’ve never been through it before. I think there is some advantage to it but I think the advantage goes to the team that plays well, that executes well, makes good decisions. I think that’s more of an advantage than experience or no experience.

Q: When you are dealing with the stretch running play, I have been told by previous players that the middle of the defensive line is most critical in dictating the success of the play. Is that accurate?

BB: I think everybody is important on that play, the inside, the outside – you can’t have one without the other. Also, I think it depends a little bit on what defense you’re in, what the call is, what the coverage is, what the run force is and what you have going on in the front. It’s hard for me to just single out one player in the running game because so many are involved and a good back will find wherever the hole is so it really needs to be good team defense across the board or you’re going to have trouble. If you have four or five gaps well handled but don’t have one handled, a good back is going to find that spot and you’re going to be in trouble. I don’t want to say it negates some of the better part of the defense if you break down somewhere but it does, that’s just the reality of it. It would be hard for me to single out one thing more than any other. I think they’re all important.

Q: When you have seen a team before do you encourage your team to have short memories? For example, do you want them to forget that Arian Foster only have 45 yards in the first meeting?

BB: Well yeah, I don’t think anybody cares right now whether he gained 145 yards or 45 yards. It’s more about what we have to do as a defense to handle the plays that they run. Again, depending on what call we happen to be in then those responsibilities may shift or they do shift defensively. The stats and the score and all that, I don’t think anybody really cares about that. The only thing we really care about is trying to defend what they do and know what we do so we can make the adjustments to it. Or on the other side of the ball, set up the way we want to try to attack their defense and know how when they do different things we’ll have to handle their alignments or whatever they’re doing, how we’re going to handle that, depending on which play we have called. I don’t think anybody cares about the stats from the game.

PATRIOTS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR/QUARTERBACKS COACH JOSH MCDANIELS

CONFERENCE CALL

JANUARY 7, 2013

Q: Is there a consistency in how J.J. Watt is used on the defensive line? Is it hard to track a pattern or can you count on him being in certain spots based on the situation?

JM: I think more of the prediction of where he may be centers around what defense they are actually in on the field at the time. He plays the strong side end – a four or five-technique end – when they’re in base defense most of the time. You have an idea of where he is going to be when they sub that base group out and go to sub nickel or dime packages. You have an idea of where he is going to be more based on the personnel than you do [based on] anything that we would be doing or any guessing on when they’re going to move him around and so on and so forth. They do happen to displace him some, but based on who they put on the field, he generally lines up where you would expect him to. But because he plays to the strength of the formation sometimes, that’s why our guys on the right and on the left will both be challenged with handling him along with the rest of their great front on Sunday.

Q: What is it like working with Tom Brady around this time of the year? Is he still the same guy or is there something different about him when the playoffs come around?

JM: Tom has a great approach and demeanor about his work every day. I think that’s really a great thing to have as a quarterback. If you can be consistent with the way you approach your job – how hard you work and the intensity with which you prepare for each opponent – I think that generally that sets a great example for your teammates and for anybody who is looking at you for leadership, in terms of how you would expect them to do their job too. We all get excited when you’re in the postseason, I mean this is really what we play and coach for, is to try to have an opportunity to play in these types of games and to coach in these types of games. I’m sure Tom is no different than any player who is really excited for our opportunity this week. But I think that Tom is a pretty consistent guy who has a great approach to doing his job every day as well as he can do it.

Q: The Texans’ front seems to be better with Brooks Reed back on the field. Can you assess how he makes that group different?

JM: Brooks Reed is another young, talented edge guy that plays with a great motor. [He’s] certainly been disruptive when he’s been in there and gives them another guy to play on the edge. I thought [Connor] Barwin and [Whitney] Mercilus, who we saw in the first game, did really good job and I think they do a great job. I think Reed just comes in and really provides some explosiveness off the edge. [He’s] a guy that can pass rush, can really play in the running game, has a great playing style about him and he’ll be another big challenge for us that we didn’t see a few weeks ago.

Q: What do you see out of the Texans’ secondary? Can you assess some of the players they run out there?

JM: This defense in general really does a great job of playing complementary – the parts of their defense play complementary roles to one another. It’s a secondary that’s asked to play man coverage. They pressure a lot, so they’re asked to play some coverages where they’re in single coverage when they blitz. They ask them to play in the slot some, depending on the formations and the personnel that you have on the field on offense. I think that [Johnathan] Joseph has really done a good job of matching up on some specific receivers during the course of the season. He’s really a talented guy and is worthy of all the accolades that he’s received and has done a great job of really competing well in some of those games where he has been matched up [with] really top notch receivers. The safeties are asked to play a lot of different roles too. [Danieal] Manning plays down near the front in some of their man coverages and is asked to cover the tight ends and I think he’s really competitive in that situation. He does a great job of getting the ball off of people and stripping the ball away and has had a history of that over his career. [Glover] Quin plays safety and also has played down in the front and blitzed and been a disruptive guy in their dime package. So there are a lot of talented players back there. The scheme, like I said, they have to hold up sometimes when they pressure and then other times they do a good job of really shutting things down in the back end and giving the front an opportunity to get to the passer. I think all of them will come up there in run support; they’re good tacklers. It’s a really good defense and there’s no question that the secondary plays a big role in that.

PATRIOTS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT PATRICIA

CONFERENCE CALL

January 7, 2013

Q: Looking at Houston’s game from Saturday with the way Houston controlled the ball and the clock, is that exemplary of how they can be most dangerous on offense?

MP: Yeah, I think that was really a great example this past weekend of how they like to play football down there – be physical, be aggressive, run the ball, control the clock and really just do a good job of just handling the game. I think with the run game going the way they have it going, obviously it sets up the play-action pass game, whether it’s the play-action downfield, [Matt] Schaub’s – the boot game that they have, or even you saw them try to get the screen game going too. That complements their deeper downfield throws along with their drop back game. But I think the more they can go ahead and establish a solid running game – and obviously they’ve got the players to do it and be physical and aggressive – I think that’s where they want to go.

Q: What was the key to having an ideal defensive performance last month against the Texans with such a well-balanced offense?

MP: It’s every week that if we can just get our guys to focus hard and prepare for exactly what we’re going to see and then obviously adapt to the way the game goes, the better of we’re going to be in those instances. Obviously it’s just a great challenge for us again because they are such a good offense. They are a balanced offense, one that can run the ball. When that running game gets going, it obviously sets up a lot of other things that they can do. It really falls in the line of the same things of kind of what I said last time. Obviously a great wide receiver in Andre Johnson and [Kevin] Walter’s certainly very good. Their tight ends are phenomenal, between [Owen] Daniels and [Garrett] Graham and [James] Casey, who was in there also. I think they just really provide a lot of different weapons that they can use offensively that you have to be prepared to stop. It’s going to be another big challenge for us and they proved again last week that they can control the game and run the ball and really just do a good job of handling game from that standpoint.

Q: What are some keys to defending the bootleg, because so many different things can happen rarely or sporadically throughout the game? What are some keys the defense has to look for? How tough is it if they end up in one of those two-on-one situations?

MP: The boot game for them is a great complement to what they do in the running game, so it is an extremely hard play to recognize and defend. Hopefully through preparation during the week, you get those tips and keys or any tendencies you might see along with obviously just some awareness, some play recognition that will help you be able to see the design of the run versus the design of the boot and hopefully we can pick those up and have a good handle on it.

Q: Tight end Garrett Graham missed the first matchup last month and although not a starter, he plays a key role on offense. How important are the tight ends and how much more dangerous is the Houston offense with their full complement of offensive weapons?

MP: Yeah, I think obviously they’re going to put the healthiest bodies they have out on the field and be successful. I think all the guys they have when they’re active for the game, they’re going to use them in the most efficient ways possible. I would just say with those in particular, the three tight ends they do have and they do use all of them quite a lot, I think they have a real excellent package that they can kind of mix and match those guys and put them in different positions and create different matchup situations or just formation situations that they feel are advantageous to what they’re try to do for that particular game. I definitely think those guys, those three players along with the wide receivers, their skill positions, they really do throw a wrinkle into what they’re doing and what you’re trying to do to defend it. So, it certainly does just add another dimension to what they do.